What’s the one thing that connects tides in the sea with Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia?

-10 if you say that they are both very mighty.

+20 if you say that they always make a comeback.

The very idea of comebacks is something that I find very interesting, be it a comeback to power or a comeback after a major downfall or even simply, a return to common round. Sometimes, when I read about these inspirational comebacks, the one question that comes to mind is what drives these comebacks? In a place where weakness is prevalent, the easier option is always to stay where you are and fade in the shadows, away from the cruel, hard world but making a comeback and facing the adversities is something that requires strength. Strength to overcome the heartbreak, humiliation, spells of self doubt and a hell lot of discouragement. So for those who choose to take the rocky path to make a comeback, what is the source of their strength? What is the thing that keeps them going on?

In order to answer these questions, Imma take a break from reality and dive into the world of fiction, bringing to you the several kinds of fuel that give living beings strength to overcome all adversity.

Onwards!

Number one: The Thirst for Revenge.

The very idea of revenge is something that garners mixed feelings. A lot of people say that it’s better to let karma do the talking but sometimes when the crime committed gets way too personal, vengeance seems to be the only path of justice. Edmond Dantes and Arya Stark, I’m looking at you.

The Count of Monte Cristo is one of the best accounts of a comeback for vengeance. Revenge is often seen as a villain’s tool but having a protagonist functioning on the principles of retaliation really does well in establishing the idea of vengeance being a form of justice. Edmond Dantès, the protagonist, is a figure to root for, looking at the amount of setbacks the bloke has faced. Right from being framed for treason to being imprisoned without trial, all before his wedding day, Edmond is a true victim of jealousy, harboured both as a rival in love as well as a rival in employment. The brutal part about facing the wrath of jealousy was that Edmond did nothing wrong other than succeed in his job and land a beautiful girl and yet, the two men jilted in both his pursuits conspired and had him thrown in prison.

As the story proceeds, Edmond manages to break out of prison and stumble upon treasure that makes him the titular Count of Monte Cristo but diving into the character, Edmond had the choice of wallowing in despair and spending the rest of his life in prison but he chose to break out and get the life that was stolen from him. He finally does manage to avenge the wrongs done to him and comes out as a strong Count, with a happy family at his side. This shows that revenge, when taken as a response to meaningless torment, is truly a driving force for an effective comeback. It also goes on to show that when one’s intent is pure and their heart is in the right place, their sufferings are only temporary.

Arya Stark from ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’/ ‘Game of Thrones’ is a character completely driven by vengeance. Each member on her famous kill list earned their spot for a grave wrongdoing, which either involves killing a member of her family or being an accomplice to the act. Arya could have easily given in to her circumstances, right from being separated from her family to being hunted down as a fugitive to training in absolute brutal conditions but revenge made her stronger and she did end up as one of the lucky ones to survive the game of thrones. What I really like about Arya is her ‘go-getter’ mentality and her will to get things done without waiting for the opportunity to present itself and this forms a strong fuel for her comeback to prominence.

It’s as they say….Sweet, sweet revenge:)

Number two: The Selfless Comeback.

Often, a successful comeback is driven by the good of others and success is earned as a token of gratitude. Such a comeback is made by either helping a struggling person or possibly aiding another comeback, without any expectation for self gain. This sort of comeback is often seen with sport coaches and parents.

An example of such a comeback is Tina Harwood from the movie, Ice Princess.

Despite being one of the best in the figure skating domain, Tina has her share of setbacks. There’s a daughter who doesn’t quite share her passion for sport, a murky past involving a fall from grace as well as an attempt at sabotage brought about by jealousy which leaves her without a single student to coach. However, her redemption arc definitely serves its purpose as she ends up being more than a coach to the protagonist Casey Carlisle and trains to a glamorous runner-up position in the state championships. She treats Casey, a literal upstart with a finger in every pie, like a daughter and even provides for her outfits and keeps her head cool with the pep talks. All in all, she is the epitome of what a coach should be.

When we look at sport coaches, we often take their services for granted but the fact remains that they were once players too and it’s quite interesting to think about the reasons that turned them to coaching other players. As a sports player myself, it’s very fascinating whenever my coach decides to reveal a bit of his back story from his playing days and there’s a lot of emotion packed into such stories, some of pride, some nostalgic and some which even house a wee bit of regret regarding decisions and choices made in haste and it really makes one appreciate their coaches more.

Another example of a selfless comeback is that of Sarabi from the Lion King.

Her comeback in the movie is often overlooked with all the explosive plot-lines taking place but if there was someone that really suffered under Scar’s tyrannical and wasteful rule, it was her. She had to cope with the grief of losing her husband and deal with separation from her only child only to be humiliated and abused by Scar. Looking at the “political” angle of a pride of lions, she was literally a disgraced Queen and she was the only one living the nightmare every single day. However, when the war is over, her comeback and success lies in that of her son Simba and not once does she claim any of his crowning glory.

Her character truly sums up mums all over the world:)

Number three: The Heroic Comeback

Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! IT’S SUPERMAN!

Sometimes, the driving force for a comeback is simply the whole idea of being a hero. These comebacks are driven either by heroic glory, winning hearts through action or simply causing pleasant surprise. Heroic comebacks are the most fun comebacks to watch as they are driven by action and the idea of pleasing the crowd which gives this sort of a comeback an aura of its own.

Sherlock, Daenerys, it’s time!

Sherlock Holmes maybe a highly functioning sociopath but he’s quite an adept at surprising his loyal sidekick John Watson by rising from the dead.

Arthur Conan Doyle gives the audience quite a jolt by seemingly killing off Sherlock Holmes in the story ‘Reichenbach Falls’ which leaves a large part of the population wallowing in grief along with John Watson. However, the story, ‘Empty House’ comes like a divine hand where the detective walks right into Watson’s clinic with a smug smile and a story about why he faked his death.

While it was a huge relief that Sherlock wasn’t dead, his heroic comeback thrives on the idea of giving Watson(as well as the readers) a pleasant shock and one cannot help but admire the love for theatrics that possesses the seemingly unfeeling man.

Another example of a heroic comeback is that of Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones.

While we talk of Daenerys, Imma leave out the absolute destruction of her character in the last season and focus on the character that was built before that. Daenerys’ whole journey is a struggle to make a comeback. She faces everything, right from being abused by her brother to being sold off into a Barbarian tribe to losing a lot of loved ones along the way but her main intent was returning to claim the throne in the most majestic way possible, in a bid to give the people a feeling that their true Queen had returned. Her lineage to making a heroic comeback is seen right from the beginning, when she takes command of her own tribe as well as when she frees all the slaves of Yunkai and they carry her in a whole procession, a moment that she totally owns.

And finally, when her dragons are fully grown, she’s always the one with the best entry into battle and her presence becomes one of an esteemed ruler and that of an entity to be both feared and respected.

Making a comeback is a hard task, so why not make it glorious while we’re at it, eh? Dragons actually help a lot in that matter, hehe:)

And that is a wrap!

Until Next Time!

Paka:)